LausanneKenya will bid to host the 2006 edition of the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Mombassa, the Indian Ocean resort.
Following a meeting with IAAF President Lamine Diack this morning, Isaiah Kiplagat, President of Athletics Kenya, and Najib Balala, Kenya’s recently elected Minister of Gender, Sport, Culture and Social Services, have announced that Athletics Kenya will make an official bid to host the competition, with the full support of the Kenyan authorities.
“I have examined the requirements and am fully confident that we can master the logistics of this event,” said Mr Balala. “Mombassa is a popular tourist destination and can offer 50,000 rooms in various hotels. I believe that Kenyan runners have done a tremendous amount to make Kenya known internationally, and see this as a good opportunity to bring the first major athletics event to the country. Our new government is working on a number of proposals to develop and market sport.”
Mombassa face a strong challenge from two other bidding cities, Melbourne in Australia and Fukuoka in Japan.
The final decision on 2006 will be taken by the IAAF Council at its meeting in November this year.
IAAF